Category Archives: Economy

There may not be a more important skill for a businesses than sales. Yet for many businesses that sell B 2 B the sales process seems to have changed from a direct sales approac

h to an Inbound sales approach.

Inbound lead generation is all the rage these days. If you are not familiar with it, the concept is instead of using intrusive sales tactics ( TV, Cold Calls. Radio) you get your prospects to call you through Social Media, SEO, and a bunch of other Internet type systems. Problem is, Inbound marketing is only going to work for a small handful of businesses per industry, leaving the other 90% plus in the cold. The other problem is, lot’s of businesses won’t sell much through inbound marketing even at it’s best.

For the 90% of the companies that won’t be competing in the inbound marketing space because of budget, or the type of prospect they sell to, then the traditional sales models still work, kind of. There is an excellent article on how SEO services can sell more that really sum’s up the new direct sales model.

Buyers have changed in the last 10 years, because of the Internet. They are far better educated on what they want and need, and therefore the traditional sales process of educate, educate and close, is really fading. The new model is all about trust and relationships.

So the Internet has not only changed how you attract new prospects, but also hoe you sell to new prospects. Even companies that can’t or don’t invest in “inbound marketing” tactics still need to be very aware and on top of their on-line reputation. Even if a prospect doesn’t find you on line ( and many will not) they are more than likely to research you on line.

Forgive the straw. I know it's in January and felt is the preferred hat.

I was born and raised in Denver. The “stock Show” was a huge local event in the 1960’s and 1970’s. You could drive through downtown Denver and half the business people had their cowboy hats on. The Brown Palace lobby was full of well dressed ranchers, and the parking lot was full of trucks.

Today I read they are thinking of moving the stock show to Aurora Colorado. That’s like moving Mardi gras from Bourbon street to Tyler Texas. It just doesn’t make sense.

I understand they need a modern facility, and there are significant dollars at stake, but as a native of Denver (now in Lafayette Colorado) it just seems that there must be a way.

I propose they settle it the only way it should be settled, a bull riding contest between the mayors of both cities. The spectacle alone would bring in mega bucks.

Mike Bayes is a Denver Native and Managing Partner of My One Call LLC. You can see more blogs about Denver sales and marketing at www.salesjumpstart.net/blog

I am not sure many of the small business owners in Denver would agree, but it is nice to see some positive spin on this. I do think the next 16 months it will be very important for all of us to keep the most positive out look possible because we are moving into an election, and that means we will be hearing about how terrible the economy is 24-7.

I am a big believer in the consumer “mass mind-set”. Consumer spending is not going to pick up when all we hear about is the crisis and that we are facing doom.

Let’s all try to point out the good in the economy, while acknowledging the challenges. It’s the right thing for business in Denver and across the country.